Atalanta is the only Italian team in Champions League round of 16, following the eliminations of Inter Milan and Juventus, after achieving a big comeback from two goals down against Borussia Dortmund. Atalanta scored 3 to turn the knockout around, with goals by Scamacca, Zappacosta, and Pasalic, but Dortmund's substitute Karim Adeyemi scored and seemed to force overtime.
But then, something dramatic happened: Ramy Bensebaini failed to clear the ball and instead hit Nikola Krstović's forehead, his studs making the Atalanta player bleed, at nearly 4+ minutes into added time.
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The penalty was the last kick of the match, and Lazar Samardzic did not miss. After a VAR revision from referee José María Sánchez Bensebaini saw a second yellow card for his reckless action and was sent off.
Nikola Krstović, 25-year-old Montenegrin who previously played at Lecce and Red Star Belgrade before joining Atalanta in 2025, later showed how his forehead was after the kick. "It's only a scratch", he said.
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Atalanta's next rival, to be announced in the draw on Friday at 12:00 CET, 11:00 GMT, will be Arsenal or Bayern Munich.